DARING to DREAM

WATCHING HELPLESSLY AS Nazi V2 rockets flew into the sky as an act of Hitler’s ultimate revenge, destined to rain death and destruction on helpless civilians, Frank Hampson looked at their vanishing vapour trails and dreamed of a better world. What if, one day, such rockets could be used to carry people into space? What if, one day, the people of Earth were united in a common goal of exploration and adventure? It was these wartime experiences that would lead to the birth of Dan Dare.

This year marks 70 years since Britain’s very own Pilot Of The Future began to wow generations of youngsters with tales of space flight and adventure. First appearing in the iconic comic in 1950, Colonel Dan Dare was a distinctly British hero almost alone in a sea of early and mid-20th century space adventures dominated by characters with American accents